Baseball Wins Series Opener in 13 Innings

OXFORD, Miss. - Designated hitter Grant Dozar's RBI single in the top of the 13th inning Friday night lifted fourth-ranked LSU to a 4-3 win over No. 24 Ole Miss at Swayze Field.

LSU improved to 37-10 overall and 15-7 in the SEC. The Tigers are tied with South Carolina for first place in the overall league standings, and LSU has a four-game lead over Arkansas in the SEC Western Division. Ole Miss dropped to 30-17 overall and 10-12 in conference play.

The series resumes at 2 p.m. CT Saturday with sophomore right-hander Ryan Eades starting on the mound for LSU. Ole Miss will counter with sophomore right-hander Bobby Wahl.

Dozar was 2-for-5 on the night with a homer and two RBI. His solo blast with two outs in the top of the eighth tied the game at 3-3.

The Tigers finally broke the tie in the top of the 13th when Ole Miss reliever R.J. Hively issued a one-out walk to leftfielder Raph Rhymes, and Rhymes moved to third on a single by first baseman Tyler Moore. Dozar grounded a Hively pitch deep in the hole at shortstop, allowing Rhymes to score the go-ahead run.

Junior right-hander Nick Goody earned his ninth save, pitching around a one-out walk to preserve the win. Junior right-hander Joey Bourgeois (2-2), the fifth of six LSU pitchers, was credited with the win as he pitched a scoreless 12th inning, allowing one hit with two walks and a strikeout.

LSU is now 10-3 this season in SEC games decided by one run. The Tigers improved to 3-1 on the year in extra-inning games.

"This was a tremendous team victory," said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. "I thought our players showed great poise in a very difficult place to play. I'm so happy for Grant Dozar, a senior who means so much to our team. He delivered twice in clutch situations, and our pitching kept us in the game until Grant finally got us the big hit.

Hively (4-4) was charged with the loss, as he allowed two runs on four hits in six innings with two walks and six strikeouts.

LSU grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the second on a solo homer by first baseman Tyler Moore, his third dinger of the season.

The Tigers extended the advantage to 2-0 in the third when shortstop Austin Nola singled, moved to second on rightfielder Mason Katz's groudout and scored on a single by Rhymes.

Ole Miss narrowed the gap to 2-1 in the sixth on an RBI single by leftfielder Tanner Mathis, and the Rebels took the lead with two runs in the seventh.

First baseman Matt Snyder opened the seventh with a solo homer, his 11th dinger of the year, and centerfielder Austin Bousfield delivered a sacrifice fly.

LSU, however, tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the eighth on Dozar's homer, his third of the season.

Both starting pitchers turned in effective outings - LSU right-hander Kevin Gausman allowed three runs on six hits in 7.2 innings with no walks and four strikeouts, while Ole Miss right-hander Bobby Wahl limited the Tigers to two runs on seven hits in seven innings with two walks and six strikeouts.